parents

As days are changing people are getting busier day by day. A good home, a good career, good marks, good looks, to sum it up a “Good Life” is all that we need to be happy. Constantly we are struggling to find the best for ourselves and using it as a measure for Happiness. Parents are happy when a child get good marks but not with the effort a child takes to prepare for the exams. Getting admission to good schools/colleges gives us happiness but not the fact that how much our child is able to learn within those fancy buildings and luxurious rules. A high end mobile handset brings us more happiness than the phone calls made to our loved ones.

Are we really happy with these materialistic objects or are these objects used to camouflage our insecurities, our shortcomings, our dreams which we were not able to fulfil? Are these all we need to be happy.

As per the dictionary the meaning of Happiness is: joy, pleasure, contentment, satisfaction, gladness. If we take a moment to ponder and observe these words, then these are feelings which relates to our inner self. It’s a state of our mind which tells me that this is what you need and not what you want. Needs can be fulfilled but wants are endless. Happiness is nothing but acceptance of fulfillment, to look inside ourselves and say I am trying my best. The moment we stop comparing ourselves to others, using them as a yardstick to measure our lives, we become contend with what we have, in other words we are Happy. “I “should be a measure for myself.

No one is incharge of my happiness except me. It’s a feeling that comes from within. A voice which praises me for the endless hardships I faced to overcome my difficulties. Acknowledging that as a human I have my shortcoming and accepting that I am not perfect. It’s an encouragement that tells us to dream and let your dreams be your inspiration but don’t let your dreams be materialistic which can be concluded in two words “achieved” or “not achieved”. Dreams can never be achieved, it can be fulfilled and the sense of fulfillment brings happiness.

When we are at peace with ourselves that is the time we are happy, and this happiness is very infectious because this is positive happiness which has come from within ourselves and like the sweet fragrance of a flower it spreads across the garden of life.

Kids are like molten wax, you can shape them however you want in their early childhood. But more than parents and teachers shaping them, it is important for them to realize certain things and be able to make a choice.

Here are some of the New Year resolutions that your kids can have for themselves:

Save electricity and Go Green

With so many ecosystem issues coming to light of late, it is very important to teach our kids the significance of making friends with nature. It is essential that they learn to protect and respect our nurture. Kids can take a resolution to make efforts to save the environment and fall in love with it. They can start by saving electricity, switch off the electric products not in use and try to learn to use alternate sources of energy. They can also decide to go green by walking to the next store instead of taking a bus or cultivating a small garden in their balcony.

Read more learn more

Reading more books will always help the kids learn more. These days, kids have a lot of exposure to social media and hence, they don’t prefer to read the hard copy materials. It is essential to educate them to read more books. Kids can resolve to read at least a particular number of books throughout the year and as parents, you can motivate and encourage their resolution to do so.

Learn the art of financial management

These days, the world is very business oriented, hence, it’s important that our kids understand the value of money. They should know as to how money plays an important role in everyone’s lives and how it should be controlled. Kids can resolve to understand the various ways money can be saved. Parents can buy a small piggy bank and encourage them to put a share of their money in the piggy bank to learn the art of saving money.

Excel in a sport of choice

Sports not only give stamina and energy to the kids but through sports, kids learn a lot of new things. Sports can drive a kid’s motivation and encourage him to reach greater heights. Kids can resolve to excel in a sport of their choice. By excel, it means they should be highly dedicated towards it and make sure that they give their 100% during the process of learning it and practicing it. They should resolve to go to all the practices and learn as much as they can. You can give them temporary goals like coming 1st in class in that sport, bagging a national level medal etc. depending upon the kids’ knowledge level in that particular sport.

Learn a new hobby/craft

Learning something new always opens your mind to new avenues. You can encourage your kids to take up a new hobby or learn a new craft of their preference which will help them explore and find out new things in the world.

It is important for us to understand that kids need their own space and time. Whatever they decide, let them do it on their own liberty. Give them the freedom to be able to decide and act upon their decision. This will not only help you but it will also help them in the long term.

We often find ourselves vulnerable to enticements and temptations. The true test of our integrity is dependent on how our core set of values inculcated by our parents and nurtured by our teachers can withstand the challenges posed by our environment.

For example, most of us are law-abiding citizens. But, many of us will admit to driving down a one-way street in a moment of weakness only to end up running into a police officer.

Oh, the ignominy!

Moral of the story is, our core set of values are non-negotiable and we must remain true to ourselves regardless of the circumstances.

Our education begins from the day we are born. We continue to learn all our life, with parents and educators sharing the great responsibility of shaping our future.

The world around us is changing rapidly with the advancement in technology and we must adapt ourselves to our new environment. However, it is equally important to preserve our core value system. Teachers and parents need to work together to shape the youth of today into responsible citizens of tomorrow.

Incorporating value education in schools and greater involvement from parents could provide the answers to the issues like social alienation and antisocial behaviour faced by our society.

School environment is ideal for developing traits like growth mindset in children. Let's see what other values children can develop in school with the help of their teachers:

Creativity: Encouraging children to be creative boosts their sense of self-worth.

Collaboration: Teamwork is the ability to work across barriers and is a highly valued quality in the 21st century work culture.

Growth mindset: A ‘fixed’ mindset makes children believe their talent is a fixed trait, whereas a growth mindset encourages them to further develop that talent.

Home environment provides a natural space for parents to inculcate values like compassion in children. Let's see how it can benefit a child's growth:

Family Values:Spending more time with children is a great way to teach them the importance of family life.

Compassion: Teaching children to have concern for all living things goes a long way in making the world a better place.

Sharing: Teaching children the joy of sharing with the less fortunate is a great way to get them to place others’ interests before their own.

Finally, children may not always be forthcoming with their problems. For this reason, it is important to create a support system based on value education and responsible parenting to help them deal effectively with their anxieties and concerns.

Education in 21st century is a whole new ball game, a fact accepted by students and educators as inevitable. Both have risen to face the challenge in their own way and are making all out efforts to adapt to the demands of the new developments.

Technology helped convert the world into a global village a few years ago, breaking down barriers and helping to connect people and cultures, as physical distances became irrelevant.

New opportunities became available and new markets opened up. There was a free exchange of ideas and thoughts, benefiting even the hitherto neglected sections of society. The ball had been set in motion which would only gain greater momentum with time.

Following in the footsteps of the concept of global village, the world is fast headed towards a digital revolution, affecting the way in which we think, learn, and communicate.

Technology is becoming more prevalent, resulting in a great churning. The outcome this time may have more far-reaching consequences, especially in the employment sector. Employment opportunities are likely to shrink further as more processes are automated.

So what needs to be done? Quick adoption of technology and evolutionary learning methodology is essential to survive in this new world order.

However, for schools who are in the forefront of overseeing the transition, it is imperative to keep the parents informed about the need to introduce newer methods and how these methods are important for their children to keep pace with technology and improve their chances at employment and entrepreneurship in the 21st century.

Schools must engage with parents in order to get them on board to make the transition painless and effective.

Adjusting to the changes is a collective effort involving students, teachers and parents. This is where Social Media (SM) tools come in handy.

School website, discussion forums, blogs, facebook, and twitter are some of the tools which can be effectively leveraged to:

Encourage parents and teachers to adopt Social Media as a productivity tool.

Highlight the reach and influence of social media in creating favourable impressions and opinions.

Finally, Social Media is not to be feared, but to be adopted judiciously. Something parents need to learn in order to monitor their children’s online activity. When they understand the medium, they can take effective measures to keep their children safe on the internet.

There are other benefits too. Social Media is the way forward and it provides us with the means to communicate effectively and unambiguously, share ideas, approach influential people, build networks - the very qualities needed to be successful in the 21st century.